Teaching: Testimonials

“I have to say choosing Reuben as my teacher has been one of the best decisions I have made. His calm understanding, fun approach to teaching has opened lots of doors for me. He understands that his pupils are all different and enjoy various types of music and of course have different learning skills and abilities. Reuben has recorded some of the pieces I have learnt to play. He has also rearranges some of my favourite songs that are too advanced for me at this stage so I can play them now. It’s great fun!” - Margaret French (Adult Student)

"Reuben is the most original and creative music teacher and composer I have come across. His lessons are both dynamic and fun and his ability to extract such enthusiasm/results from my daughters is quite astonishing!" - Kirsty Richards (Parent)

"Reuben has taken me from Amateur Hobbyist, to Professional. I study Composition, Orchestration, Performance, Production and Engineering (all aspects!!) under Reuben's tuition. Now, as a professional Producer, Mastering Engineer and Remixing Artist for several commercial record labels, Reuben also rises to his new role as a consultant, his knowledge and expertise in all areas is a standard I strive to achieve. I check all of my productions with him, and act on his advice before submitting my work to the employing record label." - Shayne Berry (Adult Student)

"Reuben has been teaching our 7 year old son and 11 year old daughter for just over a year following their move from another teacher. Reuben has re-ignited Anna's enjoyment of music, through a combination of his passion and enthusiasm for music, use of technology and providing a variety of music to learn. He has remained patient and focused with Max! With Reuben's guidance Max is now practising without complaint and loves his lessons." - Chris Lloyd (Parent)

"My daughter has not only gained great technical skill on the piano over the last few years with Reuben, he has also inspired her with different styles of music, nurtured and encouraged her interest in composition and provided expert advice on how to record her music in Cubase and notate it in Sibelius. He has a kind, patient and methodical approach which brings out the best in his students. We could not be more happy with the services he provides." - Joe Wainwright (Parent)

"Reuben has a knack of making learning the piano great fun. My daughter is making incredibly fast progress. I really appreciate the way Reuben uses technology to its full advantage as a teaching aid." - Penny Lynch (Parent)

"Reuben has taught my daughter piano for 7-8 years now. During this time I have seen how well he motivates and imparts his extensive knowledge to students and heard some of his many wonderful compositions. A talented and creative man indeed!" - Reuben Dowding (Parent)

"I love my lessons with Reuben because he always makes it fun and you get to play loads of cool tunes with backing tracks. He helps me make my own recordings which I love sending to my grandparents and my aunt who lives in Canada." - Imogen Parsley (aged 7)

"An excellent teacher whose patience and musical understanding are extraordinary. He is now on the third member of our family and each time he has managed to adapt his lessons to our needs. My daughter in particular has required a unique approach. In addition to his lessons, Reuben's composing skills mean he can adapt his own compositions to suit the pupils skill level or rearrange other music as required by his students. Furthermore, his students have the opportunity to perform at his Concerts, thus giving us the chance to play amongst others and improve our performance skill. Without doubt Reuben is a most gifted musician who is able to draw the best from his pupils whatever their musical inclination classical, jazz, rock etc." - Christine Artus (Adult Student)

"Reuben is a first class piano teacher. His ability to enthuse and motivate his pupils and tailor lessons to suit their interests results in their long term commitment...my son has been having lessons for 9 years! Whether your tastes are classical, jazz or contemporary, playing, recording or composing I would highly recommend Reuben's music lessons." - Helen Jones (Parent)

"Reuben is not your typical teacher, he makes lessons varied, fun and experimental, he is friendly, gives encouragement and motivation and is never critical; he gives constructive advice. I have learnt so much in what is really a short time and he gave me a lot of help and support with my GCSE and A-level music exams. He will go that extra mile with you to get you to where you need to be. It's great for me to play and sing pieces I like, it's not all about classical music. It's been good having all my pieces recorded on CD and every lesson is money well spent. Reuben's a star!" - Zoe McCallion (aged 18)

"Reuben has helped me so much that I can now learn other musical instruments and I find it much easier. I can now play piano and cornet and I'm going to have singing lessons and drum lessons." - Rhiain Dowding (aged 9)

"Reuben is a great teacher!! Every week I look forward to my lessons because he is relaxed and I know I'm going to enjoy myself. Reuben encourages me to develop my own taste in music and I only play songs I like! He makes theory a lot more interesting and if I'm stuck he finds ways to make it easier. When I first started having lessons with Reuben and he recorded my songs for me, I was amazed on how much could be done on a computer, so much so, I now have the same software at home! I have been going to Reuben's for nearly four years now and he really is the best teacher ever!!!" - Laurence Jones (aged 14)